Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan (24 August 1698 – 20 December 1764) was a Danish author, a
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Church of Denmark
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...
heavily influenced Danish and Norwegian religious thought and practice for roughly the next 200 years after its 1737 publication.
Biography
Pontoppidan was educated in
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...
(1716–1718), after which he was a private
tutor
TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, and then studied in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, and in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England. In 1721 he became ''informator'' of Frederick Carl of Carlstein (later duke of
Plön
Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as o ...
), and two years later morning preacher in the castle and afternoon preacher in Nordborg. From 1726 to 1734 he was pastor at Hagenberg, where he so protected the
pietist
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
s as to find it advisable to defend his course against the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
s with ''Dialogus; oder Unterredung Severi, Sinceri, und Simplicis von der Religion and Reinheit der Lehre'' (1726) and ''Heller Glaubensspiegel'' (1727). During this same period he laid the foundation of his later topographical and historical works in ''Memoria Hafniæ'' (1729); ''Theatrum Daniæ'' (1736); and the aforementioned ''Kurzgefasste Reformationshistorie der dänischen Kirche''. Pontoppidan became successively pastor in
Hillerød
Hillerød () is a Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)Frederiksborg (1734), Danish
court preacher
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...
at
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
(1735), professor extraordinary of theology at the University (1738), and a member of the mission board (1740), meanwhile writing his ''Everriculum fermenti veteris'' (1736) and ''Böse Sprichwörter'' (1739).
In 1736 Pontoppidan was directed by royal rescript to prepare an explanation of the catechism and a new hymnal, and through these two works — ''Sandhed til gudfrygtighed'' (1737) and the hymnbook (1740) — the
pietist
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
ic cause in Denmark received powerful assistance. He likewise continued his historical investigations in his ''Marmora Danica'' (3 vols., 1739–1741; a collection of noteworthy epitaphs and ecclesiastical monuments) and his uncritical ''Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ'' (4 vols., 1741–1752); and also wrote a novel, ''Menoza'' (3 vols., 1742–1743), a critique of the religious conditions of Denmark and other countries. In 1747 he was appointed bishop at
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
, where he introduced many educational reforms, and wrote ''Glossarium Norvagicum'' (1749) and ''Versuch einer natürlichen Geschichte Norwegens'' (Copenhagen, 1752–1753), while his pastoral letters formed in part the basis of his later ''Collegium pastorale practicum'' (1757). The antagonism which Pontoppidan roused at Bergen, however, obliged him to go in 1754 to Copenhagen, where he became prochancellor at the
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
in the following year. But all his plans in this capacity were thwarted by his opponents, and he sought consolation in writing, the results being his ''Origines Hafnienses'' (1760) and the first two parts of his ''Den danske Atlas'' (1763–1767), of which the last five volumes were edited posthumously. He was also active as a political economist, being the editor of ''Danmarks og Norges ökonomiske Magazin'' (8 vols., 1757–1764).
Sea serpents and giant squids
Pontoppidan argued for the existence of the
sea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse (Jörmungandr).
Mythology and fo ...
mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes ass ...
in his two-volume work, ''Versuch einer natürlichen Geschichte Norwegens (The Natural History of Norway)'', published in 1752 and 1753.
Herman Melville
Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...
, in his novel ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...
,'' talks about "the great Kraken of Bishop Pontoppodan".
Jules Verne, in his novel ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne.
The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...
'', references this aspect of Pontoppidan's work. The narrator, Professor Aronnax, explains that "another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen, also tells of a devilfish so large a whole cavalry regiment could maneuver on it." Despite the skepticism of his companions, they soon encounter "a squid of colossal dimensions." See, also, his ''
The Sea Serpent
''The Sea Serpent: The Yarns of Jean Marie Cabidoulin'' (french: Les Histoires de Jean-Marie Cabidoulin, lit. ''The Stories of Jean-Marie Cabidoulin'') is an adventure novel
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger ...
''.
Influence
Pontoppidan's ''Heller Glaubensspiegel'' was an influence on Swedish Lutheran lay preacher
Carl Olof Rosenius
Carl Olof Rosenius (February 3, 1816 – February 24, 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly ''Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976 ...
, impressing upon him the importance of
conversion
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...